The following U.S. Patents are incorporated herein by reference:
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,102,246 and 6,053,359 disclose an automated system for preparing and delivering post-mix beverages in response to one or more drink orders being entered from a remote point of sale unit or a local keypad and including: a post-mix beverage preparation assembly for dispensing ice and a selected post-mix beverage into a cup; an oblong carousel type conveyor assembly including a plurality of upwardly open cup holders which are driven by a motor driven belt so as to pass beneath a cup dispensing station, an ice dispensing station, a beverage dispensing station, and a plurality of pick-up stations; a cup storage and dispenser assembly including a bi-directionally rotatable tower upon which is mounted a plurality of different sized cup supply tubes for holding a respective stack of beverage cups; and a pneumatic vertically driven cup gripper/extractor mechanism having a pair of pneumatically operated gripper arms which operate to remove a cup from a selected supply tube on the tower and place the extracted cup into an empty cup holder which is then transported past the dispensing stations and then to a pick-up station on the conveyor for manual removal by an attendant.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,045,323 discloses a process for dispensing a beverage into a cup comprising: providing a dispensing structure; providing a transportation mechanism linked with the dispensing structure; providing a staging structure linked with the transportation structure; providing a control system linked with the dispensing structure, staging structure and the transportation mechanism; providing a sensor mechanism linked with the control system, the sensor mechanism providing signals indicating the position of a cup; providing a cup identification system having an interactive display connected to the control system; picking a cup from a storage device and positioning it within a dispensing structure; dispensing ice and a beverage at separate locations within the dispensing structure; transporting the filled beverage to a staging structure; positioning the filled cup in the staging structure; and removing the filled cup from the staging structure for sale to a customer wherein the cup identification system and the display outputs visual characteristics indicating the position and characteristics of a cup at every stage of the process.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,204,734 discloses a cup storage device that includes a tube having opposing dispensing and terminal ends and inner and outer surfaces that define an inner volume. The inner volume receives cups stacked upon each other and stores them. The cup storage device includes a plurality of resilient cup restraining members disposed on the inner surface of the tube at the dispensing end. The cup restraining members extend from a mounting end proximate the inner surface of the tube to a contact end. A guide structure is positioned on the inner surface of the tube. The guide structure defines a recess. The contact ends of the plurality of cup restraining members are disposed within the recess.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,227,830 discloses an automated beverage dispenser for dispensing a beverage and ice into a cup. The automated beverage dispenser may include an ice dispensing station with an ice auger and a weight sensor, a beverage dispensing station, and a control device. The control device instructs the ice auger to fill the cup with a predetermined amount of ice and instructs the beverage dispensing station to fill the cup with a predetermined amount of the beverage in response to a weight of the cup as determined by the weight sensor.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,327,958 discloses an automated beverage dispenser for use with a number of cups. The automated beverage dispenser may include a carousel with a number of shelves, a first actuator configured to maneuver the shelves in a first direction, a second actuator positioned adjacent to the carousel, and a gripper positioned on the second actuator such that the second actuator is configured to maneuver one of the cups by the gripper in a second direction to one of the shelves of the carousel.